Jabsco Macerator

[windward54]

I had a problem with my Jabsco macerator and was wondering if anyone else had the same issue or had a solution.

The original Jabsco macerator burned out after 10 years of use. Who know what the previous owners did and I figured that we had gotten good use out of the pump. I replaced the original pump with the same unit, another Jabsco. The pump lasted a little over a year when one of the studs broke off inside the body of the motor. I was lucky as the pump was on sale and I replaced it again with another Jabsco. This pump lasted about 6 months when again a stud broke. When I took the pump apart, I found three of the four studs badly corroded.

Based on the location of the corrosion, my best guess what is happening is the macerator head is coming loose, most likely from vibration. I found myself over the past year constantly having to tighten the head or it loosens enough to allow odors to escape into the cabin. The corrosion on the studs is right were the macerator head meets the body of the motor.

I contacted Jabsco, but they were at a loss and had no suggestions. I flush my tank regularly, I tightened the acorn nuts regularly and yet the studs still had significant corrosion. I am thinking of removing the acorn nuts and replacing them with a nut and a second locking nut. Any other suggestions?

I did want to kudos to Jabsco. When the tech guy heard my story, he immediately took my address and promised to send out replacement studs.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

The real problem...

They ain't making 'em like they used to. 15-20, even 10 years ago, Jabsco made a decent product for the money...it's not unusual--though getting rarer--to find ''80s and even a few remaining '70s Jabsco and/or their now defunct brands PAR and Brydon toilets and macerator pumps still working. But it's rare for anything they've made in at least 10 years to outlast the warranty, much less any longer....'cuz people will replace instead of repair and they wouldn't sell nearly as many of anything if it lasted longer. But Miike (cust. serv) does indeed try to help...that boy gives away a LOT of parts!

Johnson Pump macerator pumps are a "plug 'n' play" drop in replacement for Jabsco...they aren't top quality, but a lot better. However, the best replacement would be a Dometic/SeaLand electric diaphragm pump http://www.sealandtechnology.com/productpages.asp?pid=70 ....a bit pricy, but will pay for itself by outlasting a dozen impeller macerators and twice that many impellers..

 

[Rich Stidger]

Gee, Karl, that's a new one for me. I have a Jabsco that is 11 years old and I have rebuilt it once with a new impeller but do not have any of the stud issues that you are experiencing.

I'll take a guess and say that it sounds like the underlying problem might be that the studs are not threaded far enough into the motor housing and the acorn nuts are bottoming out before the pump head is fully tight. If that were the case I can see where leakage could occur resulting in corrosion and odors.

Maybe that would be a place to start. Also check the length of the replacement studs against the originals. After installing the new studs and the pump head, I would measure the length of the stud that is protruding and compare that measurement to the depth of the acorn nut.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I had the same problem and after replacing it twice, I found some better stainless at the local hardware store which appears to be surviving better than whatever type metal Jabsco used on the original pump(s).

 

[Rick D]

Ditto, Karl....

I replaced mine with ACE hardware when I rebuilt it. The studs are really bad. One had failed and the others were not looking good. However, last time around I replaced it with a Johnson as I recall and as Peggy suggested. I didn't identify it in my log as I should have.

Thinking about it again, I don't believe the threaded rods were originally stainless. They may have been brass,